Lyndhurst Lady Bears aim to catch-up in second half

With the start of the second half of the NJIC schedule, Lyndhurst will be looking to catch-up to New Milford in the Liberty division race.

The Lady Bears were a game behind New Milford after dropping a 7-2 decision last week.

"They were hitting when they needed to, and we weren't," said Lyndhurst head coach Emily Ringen.

The Bears will look to catch up to New Milford when they host the Green Knights on May 12, the last regularly scheduled Liberty division game.

As of last week, Lyndhurst was 10-4 as it split two games at the Weehawken Tournament on Saturday.

Lyndhurst has been led by the top of the lineup including senior Alyssa Pipon, sophomore Monica Laverty, senior Grace Tomko, junior Jenn Tellefsen and senior Jenna DiTommaso.

In addition Tellefsen has been solid in the circle including whiffing 145 batters in 80 innings. "Jennie has just been firing it," said Ringen.

Lyndhurst had a pair of dominating 10-0 wins last week.

Lyndhurst started out with a bang last week, defeating North Bergen, on April 14 in an independent contest at the Lyndhurst Rec Center field.

Lady Golden Bears junior hurler Tellefsen fired a two-hitter to lead the way while also hitting a double and collecting an RBI.

Both sophomore Laverty and senior Tomko smacked home runs while Tomko added three RBIs. Laverty collected a pair of RBIs in the victory.

And Lyndhurst took care of rival Secaucus, on April 16, at home in an NJIC Liberty Division contest.

Tellefsen fired a three-hitter while the Lady Golden Bears put five runs across the plate in the first three innings that secured the win.

First baseman Pipon slashed a double and collected four RBIs in the victory.

Becton's softball team went out on a high note last week with a 9-7 victory over Hoboken in an independent victory in East Rutherford on Friday.

After the Lady Red Wings tied the game at two in the top of the third inning, the Lady Wildcats bats got noisy as they scored four runs in the bottom of the third inning. After taking a 9-4 lead, Becton held off a Hoboken rally in the top of the seventh inning for the win. Samantha Frola cracked a home run and had two RBIs in the victory for the Lady Wildcats. Kaitlin O'Shea picked up the win in the circle. Juliana Squeo added a double and a pair of RBIs for the Becton cause.

Rutherford picked up a big win against a quality team in a 5-0 shutout of Pascack Hills at home on April 14.

Lady Bulldogs hurler Amanda Pendleton fired a four-hitter as all she needed was three runs in the bottom of the second inning.

Along with Pendleton Rutherford catcher Natalie Else had a huge day with two home runs and three RBIs. Andrea Lambie added an RBI to help the Lady Bulldogs' cause in the independent contest.

And Rutherford ended the week on a very big high note as the entire team got in on the cause with a 30-0 victory over Mary Help on Thursday at home in an NJIC Colonial Division contest.

Shannon Clare, Rutherford's backup pitcher, picked up the win against the Blue Jays. Desiree Almonte had a huge game against Mary Help with a home run and four RBIs.